GOP officials lash out at Democrat

George McLaughlin
and fellow member
Robert Sherry
were outraged when, at a meeting this week to select a new charter revision commission, councilman
Larry Greenspan
accused them of "malfeasance." They said the accusation is rooted in false information and added it is reminiscent of the political quagmire that characterized the prior Democratic administration.
Some leading
Democrats
are also dismayed Greenspan made the statement, and said it might end his ride on the local political circuit.
Greenspan stood his ground.
"I will neither apologize nor resign," Greenspan declared Wednesday.
Back in November, Greenspan said Sherry and McLaughlin purposely blocked payment of legal bills for the defense of a public official exonerated in what was deemed a baseless ethics complaint. Their inaction on a payment of a little more than $1,000, Greenspan said, constituted harassment, and therefore public misconduct.
On Monday night, Greenspan recited a dictionary definition of "malfeasance" when Sherry's name was raised as a possible Republican appointment to the 15-member charter revision commission.
At the meeting, neither the mayor nor any council members reprimanded Greenspan for his remarks. All remained silent. In the days since, though, Greenspan's accusations have sparked considerable debate.
"What we witnessed at Monday night's

Town Council
meeting was the continuation of a pattern of incivility, false accusations and political games by councilman Larry Greenspan," Sherry said at a press conference Wednesday morning.
Sherry brought up Greenspan's involvement in a 2003 ethics complaint against Sherry and other key Republican leaders. He said that complaint, later withdrawn, was a "vicious attempt to defame and diminish the chances of the

Republican Party
in that year's upcoming election."
Greenspan, as a member of the council, later voted to pay for legal fees involving the complaint but never disclosed his own role in the charge. That, Sherry said, was "unethical."
He said his own votes on paying the legal fees for ethics complaints were right.
"I stand by my actions and believe that the Board of Finance minutes will prove them to be prudent, responsible and in the best interest of the town of New Milford," Sherry said.
McLaughlin asked Greenspan to take the "high road," distance himself from past incivilities, and apologize for his "inappropriate behavior."
Failing that, McLaughlin said Greenspan should resign.
If Greenspan remains unwilling to yield, Sherry said his only other option would be legal action, and he doesn't want to spend his "hard-earned dollars to chase him around town."
"I would hope this could be resolved without wasting money on attorneys over something so foolish," Sherry said.
Greenspan said he is willing to stand alone on the matter because he believes he is right.
At 70 years old, Greenspan said he is no longer afraid to speak his conscience even if that means going against his party.
"I have committed political suicide many times," Greenspan said. "I realize this could cost me my political life."